Fourteen balloons sailed over the Aroostook River Saturday after launching from Johnson Road in Presque Isle.
As the sun was on its descent, the balloon pilots landed in between the vegetable fields along Route 1.
The Crown of Maine Balloon Fest draws in people not only from Maine but also from states across the country like Texas, Utah and Ohio, said Jordyn Madore, who was co-chair for the Crown of Maine Balloon Fest for four years and served on the festival’s committee for seven years. This is the festival’s 20th anniversary.
“Presque Isle — as everyone knows — is a little isolated from the rest of the world, and when an activity like hot air ballooning comes up here it’s good for the local community,” said Mike Lavoie, pilot of the balloons Schmedley and Cat Sass from West Ossipee, New Hampshire.
On Thursday, Aug. 24, he flew Cat Sass in the early morning and then in the evening flew Schmedley during the first day of the Balloon Fest.
Lavoie has been on the road since late June and won’t return home until early November. He has been coming up to the Balloon Fest for the last three years. In 2021, Lavoie was voted pilot of the year.
A few pilots flew over Presque Isle on the morning of Aug. 24, with the ribbon burning taking place at the Northern Maine Fairgrounds done by last year’s pilot of the year Randy Lee with Spellbound Spirit III from Four Oaks, North Carolina.
New pilots to this year’s Balloon Fest were Richard Piendel flying Blaser Swisslube from Annville, Pennsylvania, and Michael Olin flying Heaven Sent from Warner, New Hampshire.
Pilots Seth Bailey with Czech Mate from Nova Scotia and John Viner with Master Zaba from Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, returned to this year’s Crown of Maine Balloon Fest after a few years away.
On Friday, Aug. 25, some events were canceled due to the rainy weather but the food and craft vendors were still open. Among those, Wally and the Virginian set up inside the long tan metal building where the craft venders were located at the Northern Maine Fairgrounds.
Everyone is hopeful that the rest of the balloon fest staples like the Dusk Balloon Glow will happen on Saturday, Aug. 26, and the rest of the morning and dusk launches happen on Sunday, Aug. 27, Madore said.
Later on, the ticket sales for the Dusk Balloon Glow were announced as the weather broke to calmer skies.
This year Michael DePew of Nashua, New Hampshire, flew for the second time in the Crown of Maine Balloon Fest. He has been piloting balloons for 10 years. He piloted the balloon Manifesto this year.
Manifesto was the first to take off from the open field on Johnson Road on Thursday, Aug. 24. He flew in low over the other balloons being inflated and popped up high over the Aroostook River.
“[Presque Isle] is like the Kansas of New England,” DePew said.
DePew’s family has been piloting balloons since the late 1970s. DePew got his piloting license for balloons from Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2013.
“It’s a very beautiful area to fly in, over town or out in the countryside either way they’re all beautiful,” said Marian Deeney, pilot for the Hemisphere Dancer from Monticello, Florida.
Deeney has been coming to the Crown of Maine Balloon Fest for almost a decade. The Mainers have become like a second family to Deeney’s family, she said.
Deeney flew on the early morning and evening of the Balloon Fest on Thursday, Aug. 24.
“It’s just a gorgeous area, friendly people and it makes you want to come back,” Deeney said.
The Crown of Maine Balloon Fest is part of an unofficial festival circuit, with Lewiston having its Great Falls Balloon Festival last week. After leaving Presque Isle, the pilots went across the border to Bath, New Brunswick, and ended the circuit in Sussex, New Brunswick, Madore said.
“I came up here quite often in the late 1970s and early 1980s and it’s nice to come back and fly here,” Lavoie said.